Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN!
Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2015.

Pages

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Book Review: "Google Your Family Tree"

Daniel M. Lynch sent a review copy of his new book, Google Your Family Tree (published by FamilyLink.com, Inc., 2008) to me while I was on vacation.

I have had a chance to read through it, but haven't yet grasped every nuance and technique mentioned in the book. The reason for this is that it is so chock full of excellent demonstrations, suggestions and tips for genealogists to use in searching the Internet for information about their ancestors and relatives -- my brain hurts!

Dan patiently explains, and demonstrates, how to effectively perform genealogy searches on the Internet using Google's Basic and Advanced Search boxes. The use of keywords, quotes, and commands are shown using real genealogy oriented examples. He also shows how to obtain results in Web, Images and Video, Books, News, Language Tools, Maps, Blogs, etc. There are chapters on using Google Alerts, Google Earth, Google Notebook, the Google Toolbar, and Tips and Tricks (e.g., flight status, weather, current time, currency, population statistics, patent search, tracking parcels, stock prices, mathematics, unit conversions, etc.).

The adage that "we don't know what we don't know" certainly applies to Google! I didn't know that Google could be used to do ALL of those things, and have not explored every one of them YET, but I will! I use Google mainly for web and image searches, and use the Books, News and Maps features when I remember that they are available to use.

I think that this book should be on the desk of every genealogist doing online research. With a book like this, dedicated to use by genealogists, I will be able to do my searches more efficiently and faster, and be able to investigate more avenues in my research.

The book includes appendices on "Getting Started in Genealogy" and "Top Sites for Genealogists" that are basic but useful (although I disagree with some of the cited top 10 best "free" web sites to use for genealogy). There are also appendices for other Internet Search engines, the history and evolution of search engines, a syntax summary and quick reference pages.

My conclusion is that this book is a vital addition to the library of beginning genealogy researchers, and is a great reference book for experienced researchers. It's a keeper for me, and would make a great Christmas gift for the genealogist in your life (or yourself - tell your friend, spouse or partner about it).

No comments:

Follow by Email

Subscribe To

Search This Blog with Google

About Me

I am a native San Diegan, a graduate of San Diego State University, a retired aerospace engineer, a genealogist and a family guy.
My wife (Angel Linda) and I have two lovely daughters, and four darling grandchildren. We love to visit them and have them visit us.
Angel Linda and I love to travel to visit friends and relatives, to sightsee, to cruise or to do genealogy. Our travels have taken us all over the USA, to England, Down Under and Scandinavia.
For earlier posts (not visible on the main post list), please see the Archives listed below by month.
If you like my blog, please put it in your Favorites or Bookmarks and visit regularly.
Contact me via email at randy.seaver@gmail.com